Meter or registering apparatus.



J. E. LEA.

METER 0R REGiSTERING APPARATUS.

APPLlCATlON FILED AUG-12,1918. 1 29351 3Q. Patented. Feb 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET J. E. LEA.

METER 0R REGISTERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.12, I918.

Patented Feb. 4, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEEI 2.

JAMES EDWARD LEA, OF MANCHESTER, ENGLAND.

METER OR REGISTERING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 4, 1919.

Application filed August 12, 1918: Serial No. 249,493.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMns EDWARD LEA, B.-Sc., a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and resident of Manchester, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Meter or Registering Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention refers to meter or registering apparatus of the kind comprising a toothed integrating drum, 2'. 6-, a drum having teeth on its surface and with portions of the teeth cut away along a spiral line, a counter, and intermediate gearing, one inion member of the gearing being slida le endwise to various positions relatively to the drum. In one example of said apparatus, the said pinion member of the gear has been mounted upon an endwise moving rod lying between the said drum and a long pinion, this latter being eared to the counter, which is stationary. with such arrangement there has been the risk of the teeth of the pinion jamming with those of the drum at the moment the teeth of the pinion member are required to mesh with those of the drum.

In another example of the said apparatus, the counter has been made to slide bodily along the drum, the first-motion wheel of the counter meshing with the teeth of the drum. In such arrangement, the teeth of the said wheel have engaged the drum yieldingly under gravity, and the degree of mesh has been regulated by a lever arm contacting with a fixed rod.

The object of this invention is to provide the first described arrangement of apparatus with an endwise moving pinion member, which will yieldingly engage the teeth of the drum under the ressure of a spring and under the contro of a screw, the counter being stationary.

The improved apparatus is applicable for use in the registration of the flow of liquids and in the registration of the flow of granular materials in regard to volume or mass, according to my rior Patent No. 1,151,956, and will be hereinafter described in connection with a mechanical chain-grate stoker for boiler furnaces.

Upon the accompanying drawing,

Figure 1 illustrates a front elevation,

2 a longitudinal sectional plan, and Flg. 3 a transverse sectional elevation on lme'w-w of the improved registering apparatus.

Fig. ,4 illustrates an enlarged view of a detail part hereinafter described.

According to the invention, the improved apparatus comprises an iron box or casing 1, suitable for bolting to say the side of the stoker, said casing having a removable cover plate 2, in which is a glazed opening at 3 to allow of the measurement registratlon being visible without removing the cover plate. In two brackets 4, within the casing and. secured by screws to the back of the casing, is revolubly mounted a shaft 5 which at one end extends to the 4 arranged exterior of the casing, and is adapted to be driven through suitable gearing from the usual worm by which the endless chain grate of the furnace is driven. Also revolubly mounted in the brackets 4, 4 is the axis of a toothed integrating drum 7 this latterbeing similar to the drum described in my prior patent.

Upon the axis of the drum wheel 8, while upon the shaft 5 is a, spur pinion 9, the two wheels meshing with each other, and the wheel 8 in the example shown being twice the diameter of the pinion 9, so as to cause the drum to rotate at the same speed as the furnace grate. The said brackets 4, 4 also form the bearings for a long pinion wheel 10, the axis of which at one end is fitted with a spur wheel 11 adapted to mesh with a further spur wheel 12 mounted uponthe first motion spindle 13 of a counter, such first motion spindle 13 and the last motion spindle 14 of the counter 15 being revolubly mounted in the brackets 4, 4. The counter disks are marked with numerals representing volume or mass.

Slidably mounted in the said brackets 4, 4 is a rod 16. This rod lies a little to the rear of the axes of the drum 7 see Fig. 3, and hingedly mounted upon such rod is a bracket 17. Upon the rod 16 and lying between the bracket 17 and a collar 16 is loosely mounted a pinion 18, while upon a stud 18- carried by the bracket, is loosely mounted a further pinion 19, the two is a spur pinions being of equal size and meshing with each other, see Figs. 3 and 4. The pinion l9 lies immediately over the drum 7, while the pinion 18 lies immediately below the long pinion 10, and is always in mesh with such long pinion;

The bracket 17 has a lateral extension 17 a Which overhangs a further bracket 20, this latter being rigidly clamped to the rod 16 at one end, so as to move to and fro with the rod when moved endwise, and slidably engaging, by its forks,'a guide rod 21 at the other end, see Fig. 4, the rod 21 being held to the brackets 4, 4 by set screws, see Fig. 2. Screwing through the extension 17 of the bracket 17 is a regulating screw 22, the point of which normally bears against the top'fa'ce'of the bracket 20. Secured to such top face of the bracket 20 is a pin 23 which extends loosely through a hole in the extension 17 of the bracket 17, and also through a light spring 24 (see 4) above which it receives a nut and washer 25. By means of the screw 22 the teeth of the pinion 19 can be regulated to mesh with the teeth of the drum to any desired extent, and by means of the spring 24 the pinion 19 is allowed to rise up bodily in the event of the teeth of the pinion momentarily failing to properly mesh with the first tooth of the drum, the spring afterward forcing the pinion down again and keeping it in mesh with the drum. As compared with the said known apparatus, it should now be seen that the fea-' tures which distinguish this invention are the stationary (non-sliding) counter in combination with the yieldingly mounted sliding pinion 19. Further, the addition of the pinion 19 and radius arm or brac'ket17, the spring 24 for holding the pinion yieldingly in mesh with the drum and the screw 22 for regulating the depth of mesh which insure that the gears invariably mesh without any slip or tendency to jam or bind.

By the use of the spring 24 the instrument can be used any way up, and further, a more positive drive can be obtained between the drum 7 and pinion 12 than is usually possible when relying only upon the weight of the counter, a feature of importance when the drum is driven by a poweroperated mechanical stoker.

The guide bar 21 is preferably calibrated at 26 proportionally to the depth of the bed of combustible material (which is usually 8 inches), and the bracket 20 moving across said calibrations serves as an indicator to indicate the depth of the feed at any given time. Said indicator also serves as a convenient means for setting the instrument when fixing or periodically when in use. That is to say, assuming the moving element to which the rod 16 is connected to be at half stroke then the connections are adjusted until the zero mark on the bracket 20 registers with the center marking on the scale 26.

What I claim is 1. Meter or registering apparatus of the kind referred to comprising, in combination, a stationary (non-sliding) counter marked to indicate volume or mass and a toothed integrating drum, together with interposed gearing, one member of which yieldingly meshes with the drum under the pressure of a spring, and under the control of a regulating screw, and means for moving said member of the gearing endwise and lengthwise of the drum, substantially as herein set forth.

2. Meter or registering apparatus of the kind referred to, comprising, in combination, a stationary (non-sliding) counter parallel to the said drum, a pinion loosely ournaled on said rod but movable therewith and meshing with a long pinion geared to the counter, a further pinion meshing with the first-named drum, said further pinlon being carried by a radius arm or bracket from the sliding rod and its teeth engaging the drum under the pressure of a regulatable spring, and under the control of a screw, and said bracket and pinion being movable endwise with the rod, substantially as herein set forth.

3. Meter or registering apparatus of the kind referred to comprising, in combination, a stationary (non-sliding) counter marked to indicate volume or mass and a toothed integrating drum, together with interposed gearing, one member of which yieldingly meshes with the drumunder the pressure of a spring, and under-the control of a regulating screw, and means for moving said mem er of the gearing endwise and lengthpinion and with the wise of the drum, together with means to further pinion is mounted, a second rigid arm on the sliding rod adapted to engage a rigid guide bar regulatable spring-connecting means between the radius arm and ri 'd arm to insure the teeth of the further pmion meshing with the drum and under control of a screw, calibrations on the guide bar proportional to the endwise travel of the In witness whereof I have hereunto set further pinion, and an indicator on the rigid my hand in the presence of two Witnesses.

arm, said rigid and radius arms, together JAMES EDWARD LEA. with the pinion mounted on the latter, b'e- Witnesses: 5 ing movable endwise with rod, substantially FREDERICK JAMES MEREDITH,

as herein set forth. J. BERNARD HAYWARD. 

